Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 971 Chen Bing

The Baishi River runs back through the north and south wings of Qujing Bazi from east to west. The river flows less than two miles away from Qujing City, like a wide moat, protecting the city behind it.

Dalima's army of more than 100,000 troops deployed along the river bank between Qujing City and the Baishi River, determined to use the Baishi River as a barrier to prevent the Ming army from crossing the river.

To this end, he also used these two months to dig trenches stretching for more than ten miles along the river, built archery towers every hundred steps, and provided everything he needed, including deer, firewood, and horses.

But Dalima still couldn't put his mind at ease. The successive losses of Puding Fort, Pu'an Village, Luoshan City, and especially Shengjing Pass had made him realize that the Ming Army was now powerful and the Yuan Army was pulling its weight. The gap between the two sides is too big...

The day before yesterday, the scouts came to report that the Ming Dynasty army finally entered the pass, and the troops were pointed directly at Qujing, so he began to suffer from insomnia.

It was only the fifth day of the night, so he got up early and began to inspect the defense line along the river.

In fact, the main thing is to wake up early. There was heavy fog today, and he was very worried that the Ming army would use the cover of the fog to do something dirty. Therefore, the troops must be put into combat status in advance.

"The messenger has already informed us, there is no need for Pingzhang to come in person." Erdun, who was in charge of the defense line, hurried out of the camp to greet him.

"Don't worry." Dalima sighed. It has only been a few months and he has become much older: "We only have this river left now. If the Baishi River is also lost, Kunming will be in danger."

"Don't worry Pingzhang." Erdun quickly comforted him and said: "We not only have the Baishi River, but also these more than 100,000 troops. We will definitely be able to prevent the Ming army from crossing the river."

"There are also one hundred thousand Ming troops on the opposite side..." After Dalima finished speaking, the two fell into silence. They all know that one hundred thousand and one hundred thousand are completely different concepts.

A hundred thousand Ming army is enough to destroy a country, but a hundred thousand Yuan army is nothing...

"No matter how strong they are, they will be restrained at every turn when crossing the river. If we attack them halfway across the river, why worry about losing?" Erdun said in a deep voice.

"Yeah." Darima also realized that this was not the time to talk depressingly, but to focus on motivation, so he raised his voice to the generals gathered in front of him:

"One hundred and thirty years ago, the founder Xue Chan Khan personally led an army from Shaanxi to Sichuan, marching thousands of miles straight. Along the way, he appeased the Tibetan leaders and lamas. With the help of their strength, he made far-reaching and roundabout routes, won by surprise, and captured the Dali Kingdom! For Future generations have built this paradise.”

"Now, it's our turn to defend our homeland!" Dalima said emotionally: "I think back to those days, how majestic and unstoppable our ancestors were. Han people and barbarians were nothing but native chickens in front of them. Wagou! We must not embarrass our ancestors and let the Han people recall the horror of being dominated by Genghis Khan!"

"Ouch!" The Mongolian generals were so excited that they drew their swords and swore loudly that they would never let the Ming army cross the line of defense.

But the soldiers not far away seemed to have nothing to do with them, as if they were watching the fun.

This is normal, because the Mongols in the Yuan army are only a minority. Especially the ordinary soldiers, most of whom were recruited from the local indigenous people, and some were mercenaries who were paid to fight. I couldn't even understand what they were talking about, let alone empathize with them.

However, Dalima also had a way to motivate them. I saw civilian husbands driving heavy ox carts, one after another, slowly driving into the camp.

Dalima waved, and the soldiers opened all the boxes on the car, revealing boxes full of copper coins.

Dalima casually grabbed two bunches of money, raised them high, and announced loudly: "Repulse the Ming army once, and all soldiers will be rewarded with the same amount of money! If you defeat the Ming army several times, you will be rewarded with several strings of money. You will be rewarded on the same day, and we will never default!"

"Ouch!" After understanding Pingzhang's meaning, the soldiers finally became excited.

Dalima nodded with satisfaction and threw the copper coin in his hand to the soldier. Seeing their futile attempts to fight for each other, he sighed to himself: 'Sure enough, a brave man must be rewarded with a heavy reward. Fortunately, he still has the ability to give a heavy reward...'

In this way, he cheered and scattered coins along the way to boost the morale of the officers and soldiers. After a long time, my eyes suddenly became clearer and the whole world became brighter.

"The fog has cleared..." Dalima realized that it was daytime now.

Before he finished speaking, the soldiers on the arrow tower let out bursts of exclamations.

"Ming Army, Ming Army is here..."

Darima quickly climbed up to an arrow tower nearby and looked across the river. Then he saw a scene he would never forget - a huge army appeared on the other side of the river!

The sharp swords and guns, the bright armor, and the numerous battle flags are shining dazzlingly under the sunlight, making people dare not look at them.

At this time, the Ming army was really like the rising red sun, gushing out and unstoppable. They just appeared quietly on the other side and put great pressure on the Yuan army.

The morale that Dalima had managed to build up suddenly disappeared, especially the indigenous soldiers and mercenaries, who all looked frightened. I wonder why so many Ming troops suddenly appeared?

"Don't they know that the Ming army has arrived?" Dalima looked at Erdun displeased.

"The general is worried that revealing the enemy's situation too early will cause unnecessary panic..." Erdun said sarcastically.

"Speak humanly!" Dalima interrupted him impatiently.

"Speaking humanly, I am afraid that there will be too many deserters." Erdun hurriedly explained: "After the fall of Shengjing Pass, those defeated soldiers who escaped back greatly exaggerated the combat effectiveness of the Ming army for the sake of their own face, and made them look like three-headed and six-armed soldiers. , It can turn the world upside down. It scared many local soldiers and Burmese soldiers into deserters."

"If I tell them that the Ming army has already reached them, I don't know how much more they will have to run in one night." Erdun was also full of bitterness:

"It's hard to lead a team when people's hearts are broken, Pingzhang. This is the only way to keep it going with deception."

"But it's not a big problem. Although we didn't say that the army was coming, our defense has never been slack. We will definitely let the Ming army get a bloody blow." Erden hurriedly patted his chest again and assured.

Dalima was immune to such nonsense. He just stared at the Ming army on the other side and said, "Their next step should be to chop down bamboo and wood, and prepare to build a raft to cross the river, right?"

"Yes." Erden nodded and said: "We have cut down all the trees along the river. They have to go to Chongtou Naozi, ten miles away, to cut down the trees, and they have to prepare for several days..."

However, his voice became quieter and quieter, until finally it was almost undetectable.

Because he saw that the Ming army unloaded bundles of thick bamboo from the carriage like magic and had already begun to build rafts...

It is common sense that the defenders would cut down all the trees along the river to cause trouble for the enemy.

The Ming army stayed at Shengjing Pass for more than two months. They were so well prepared. How could they not have thought of this? People had prepared the materials for making rafts in advance and used horse-drawn carriages to pull them to the Baishi River.

How could it be possible to cut down trees on site? If we couldn't find suitable wood to make rafts, would we still have to withdraw our troops?

(End of this chapter)